The Arctic sky was a dreary grey.
A pale light behind the notch of the horizon foreshadowed the light of the
position of the distant sun. Gusts of wind swirled with small ice crystals and
blew a fine veil from the crest of the high ringed mountains.

Disagreeing
the two pilot-officers made their short daily walk outdoors. Gutmann had come
back so late last night that the conversation couldn’t be continued.
Consistently left to themselves, the two men found the emerging boredom
downright depressing.

Novelty
at all the latest technology as well as at the strangeness of their
surroundings was no substitute for action in the long run, to which they were
apparently condemned indefinitely. Somehow everything went along its right and
planned duration, as it had been by their commander who’d come from Vernäs with
them as well as with Major Küpper having transferred to Berlin. Furthermore the
presence of the Waffen-SS, themselves in their ranking, was another visible
proof that Point 103 must have had extraordinary importance to for the Reich.
For this reason it couldn’t have seemed especially strange to them that the
permanent staff of the secret base was formed by religious orders, which might
have taken a special mission within the orders of the SS. Gutmann’s words from
the day before had uncovered a smidgeon of these secrets now.

The
two officers had pulled the warm hoods of the parkas low over their faces. As
they decided to return they suddenly saw in the sky three bright
light-phenomena which darted towards them both quickly and staggering in a
triangular formation. They were pale, iridescent disks like the one that had
appeared over the Eskimo settlement on the Boothia Peninsula. The men couldn’t
help appreciating the altitude and size of the disks. Nevertheless one could’ve
gained the impression that they might have been significantly smaller than the
first one. Like plates radiating light they sailed silently and then
disappeared after a short time.

“It’s
no wonder to me anymore,” Recke could be heard, “But flying here could get
uncomfortable with time!”

Reimer
pointed to the weather station lying in the middle of the mountains, “The men
at Frogglass have also seen the light-saucers. You can see them behind the
station’s windows!”

“They’re
always watching, even if there’s nothing to see!”

“There!”

A
fine hum came through the air. A V7 flying top rotated closer and remained in
place over the lateral center of the landing drop. Shortly thereafter the
camouflaged trap door opened into a dark abyss. They could see clearly how the
flight machine adjusted with minor corrections in its position and slid then
straight down and disappeared exactly into the opening, which immediately
closed again.

“Just
like us!” Recke said, “The first landing we’ve seen as observers. Whenever
we’re out here the airport’s usually abandoned. You’d actually have to watch
more to see the operations here in action.”

“I
think we’ve slept too much, rather. That’s it!” Reimer grinned.

Recke
looked at him askance, “Do you know something better against indolence?”

Reimer
suddenly shifted the conversation, “I have a feeling it was Juncker that just
came back. If I’m not mistaken, we’ll be able to see what’s new. The flight
command doesn’t send V7s for the weather checks!” Followed by Recke he walked
with his broad-gauged aviator boots to one of the doors.

“When
the wind’s blowing, the freezing cold’s unbearable…”

They
made their way to the huge landing bay. Coming through a passageway, they saw
standing before the descended gyro two more that they’d never noticed in the
background. Reimer approached one of the men near the aircraft, “Has Major
Juncker landed?”“Jawohl!” he answered, “As I
understand it, he’s already with the adjutant.”

Reimer
thanked him. Turning to Recke he said, “He’ll be coming back to his room to
take his flight-suit off. It’ll probably be best to wait for him there.”

“I’ve
noticed a greater bustle this morning,” Reimer agreed, “I wonder if it has
something to do with light-disks?”

“Hm
– on the Boothia Peninsula it had also begun to alternatre and change places.
It was quite pretty then – Aladdin's lamp in the North Pole! – If the tragedy
with the shaman hadn’t happened…”

“It
somehow hung together at that time,” Reimer said, “Provisionally this story is
still mysterious to us. Maybe we can find an explanation later. And besides,
we’d landed by accident. The magnetic pole isn’t on the Boothia Peninsula
anymore, it’s since moved north-west to the Prince of Wales Island. I spoke
with Gutmann about it a few days ago and he told me our maps still had the old
positions. The pole wanders and already dropped about three-hundred kilometers
from the point we’d taken it as. The movement in our magnetic compass was
perfectly understandable at that distance.”

“No
one told us before departure. Damn negligence in Vernäs.”

Just
before the passage that housed their rooms, they met three Japanese in uniform.
The stripes on their shoulders pointed them out as officers.

Reimer
and Recke hailed them and thanked the Japanese as well, whereby they smiled
authentically. All three were small in stature but looked unusually
intelligent.

“The
Japs were dreaming not but six months ago of the North Pole as much as we
were!” Recke said when they’d left, “They’re good soldiers!”

Reimer
guessed correctly back in the landing bay that Juncker would soon come to his
room. The two captains hadn’t been long in Recke’s room before Juncker entered
in flying clothes.

“Hello,
comrades,” he greeted and began to open his combination. Recke readily helped
him. He motioned to hang the bulky dress in Juncker’s locker but he protested,
“Leave it on the bed, Recke! It may be that I have to take off again soon. We
don’t have many men that can fly the gyro. Would you like lessons?”

“Hm
– It’s actually the case that we’re the first ones in line to get news. I’ve
picked up an Asian emissary from some base outside the Arctic circle. We
already have a number of people here and some are still expected to come during
the day. At the Grand Assembly a lot will be revealed that we don’t already
know.”

“We
met three Japanese officers,” Recke confessed.

“Ach, they’ve already been here for three
days! They’re envoys from the Black Dragon.”

“Yikes
– how awful,” Recke laughed broadly, “What kind of club is that?”

Juncker
remained serious, “The most powerful organization in Japan! It has influence
far beyond the borders of their country. They’re valuable allies, the
Japanese.”

“Did
they land here in one of the aircraft?” Reimer pried.

“No.
We picked them up with a long-range craft about half-way. Basically we do this
for safety reasons. It’s also very hard to fly this area!”

“Why?”
asked Recke, “When you’ve come to terms with the navigation and you have a good
plane…”

“I
didn’t mean that,” replied Juncker, “But there’s one particular area – not too
far from here – where there have been disappearances already, which couldn’t be
found despite our extensive searches. It’s forbidden land.”

“That’s
just it! I’d like to point out the sensational case of the polar aviator
Levanevski. This Russian flew a four-engine aircraft with five crew members
over the pole on a nonstop flight to Alaska. They mysteriously vanished from
sight. A radio was broadcasting his flight over the pole, and later came a
message that one of the right engines was aground and immediately all radio
communications ceased.”

“And
then he crashed,” Recke said laconically.

“The
extraordinary part of the case is based on the complete disappearance and
probably misguided search flights. We oldies, who’ve been here at Point 103 for
a while, are very familiar with this story. There’s more: The airman Wilkins
led ten of the flights from Northern Canada, and the experienced Grazianski
also took off. The Russians even sent an icebreaker with airplanes into the
Beaufort Sea, but there was no success. The most interesting part of this
flight is the fact that the reconstruction of the flight-path over the pole
revealed that in terms of distance the planes would’ve had to find traces of
the missing men. As it was, the routes forked conspicuously around the area; it
seems as if forces had taken the planes from their original course to keep them
away from a certain area. The Russians later took a number of flghts from a
base in Crowned-Prince Rudolf Land but all efforts were in vain. The secret
around Levanevski and his companions remains unsolved. Since we’re able to keep
foreign craft from our base ourselves, it’s quite possible that…” Juncker made
a vague motion.

“If
you’ve made a flight-path reconstruction, all you have to do is make easy
corrections,” Recke objected critically, “A strictly fixed route…”

“It
would therefore mean that Levanevski found something and didn’t have a chance
to radio back. Then two questions remain: What did he find and who could’ve
crashed the Russians or stopped them from radioing?”

“Correct!”
Juncker confirmed, “However, it’s still unanswered.”

“Very
strange,” Reimer ran his hand across his forehead, “There’s nothing to compare
it with.”

“There
is! If not being so tragic…”

Reimer
looked at Juncker.

“What
then?”

“Point
103!” Juncker replied, visible amused at the astonishment of the two captains,
“Land has been found in this area before. In the first World War, the Canadian
Macmillian undertook an expedition to find Cracker Land, which the known polar
explorer Peary had reported in 1906. Macmillian took incursions with sleds from
Ellesmere Island and Axel-Heiberg Island and came up to the eighty-second
latitude, but couldn’t find it. It must have been easier to find back then.
Since then Cracker Land has become a legendary land…”

“Is
that even possible?” Recke marveled.

“Oh,
science knows of two such cases! In 1907 the Koch brothers sighted a place they
called Fata-Morgana Island. It was because thirty years later Lauge Koch went
back to search for that very island, suspected to be behind Nansen Island, but
they could no longer find it. Around the same time a great Russian expedition
under Samoilovich to find among other things the legendary Sannikov Island.
Despite their modern aids the Russians were unsuccessful. It’s north of the New
Siberian Islands lying around the eightieth latitude.”

“You’re
well versed in the history of polar exploration!” Reimer had to acknowledge.

“Pff,”
Juncker was dismissive, “Gutmann knows a lot more!”

Reimer
looked up, “Gutmann spoke of a mystical high-seat…”

“Ah
– really? – When did he tell you about the Blue Island?”

“Blue
Island?”

“You
just said…!”

“Gutmann
never gave a name,” interrupted Recke, “He only spoke about it generally. But
still: Here the solution to the Levanevski Problem might lie. The command staff
of our base concerns itself with this unsolved mystery.”

Recke
rose from the edge of the bed, put his hands in his pockets and stood broadly.

“That’s
very interesting, dear Juncker. But doesn’t our staff here have any closer matters
to attend to currently?”

“I
think Gutmann’s given you evidence that shows the casual relationships!”

“Understand
Recke,” Reimer said in between them, “He probably understands everything but at
the moment he’s thinking of the most obvious things. We all have family members
in the homeland and we’re concerned about the emerging chaos they’ll all fall
to.”

“That’s
understandable,” Juncker admitted, “It’s not much better for me. I have a
family in Magdeburg.” There was a slight twitch on his sharp-featured face,
“It’s clear we need to get out of this brooding. When the Grand Assembly is
over, there will be a grand wealth of operational orders!”

Reimer
poked Recke annoyingly, “Some things one should take more seriously.”

“Don’t
blame him!” Juncker lied to Reimer, “It’s always good to look at things with a
dry sense of humor. He understands, doesn’t he?”

He motioned with
his hand nervously and turned himself over facing the wall. A few minutes later
deep breaths betrayed that he was already asleep. When Gutmann arrived later in
the night, Reimer was already sleeping. In the morning he was already preparing
to leave when Reimer woke up.

“Hey, Gutmann.”

“Yes?”“Where are you going so
early?”

“Much to do
today! Gotta go,” he pushed the door open and hurried away before Reimer could
ask any more. Through the thinly opened door invaded the command channelings of
the speaker system.

Reimer stretched
his arms and jumped up with a start. Even as he dressed he yawned. He had a
somewhat restless sleep behind him and had dreamed. As the trapping of steps
could be heard outside the door and revealed an increase of activity, he tried
to sort out his thoughts and recall the dreams from the night.

But he could
only bring together vague notions relating to the mysterious high seat in the
Arctic circle. Gutmann’s hints and Juncker’s remarks about a blue island had
stimulated his imagination and dangled images into his dreams which didn’t want
to come back into the waking world. Somehow he retained the memory that the
strange glowing disks had played a role in his vision. A feeling not yet
justifiable brought him to the idea that the phenomena could be related to this
unknown center.

Even when he was
in uniform he was unsure if he’d taken the technical knowledge and logic to
help. Here lay a gulf he was unable to bridge. As he took up a towel towards the
end of the hall where the wash room was, he decided to keep these mind games to
themselves temporarily and see what Gutmann would say.

In the laundry
room he met Recke who was already about to leave, “Since when dod you get up
with the hens?”

Recke wiped some
suds from his foot, “Funny comparison, especially when there’s not even a zoo
here!”

“My God, it’s an
idiom!” Reimer put his small shaving box on top of the wash basin and stripped
off his shirt, “Gutmann’s flying again.”

Reimer turned on
the hot water and started to lather his face, “Yeah, there’s no longer anybody
in neighboring rooms around us. I think we’d have the whole bathroom to
ourselves for a while. No one’s pushing around.”

“Oh – the baths!
I want to see what’s going on. The base is like a beehive.”

“All the
messengers are probably here, I suppose,” Reimer began to shave his chin
slowly.

“For that very
reason. Hurry mowing your stubble and let’s go to breakfast.”

“Mhm,” made
Reimer. He hurried in the restroom and hurried still from the baths. After
nearly a quarter of an hour he brought Recke from the room and to the dining
hall. Of all the comrades that had become known to them and were unknown still,
none of them were there. Only the three Japanese officers from the day before
sat at a table in the back and chatted lively with a bald Mongol, who’d had a
long black coat.

The foreigners
were engrossed in their conversation and payed no attention to the late
comers. Their expressions were serious and calm. No gestures disturbed the dignity
of their conversation.

“I was once
handed one of the illustrated works by the famous Swedish explorer Sven Hedin,”
Recke whispered to his comrade as they took a seat, “It included a Tibetan
abbot that looked exactly like the black-caped one with the Japs!”

Around the
bald-headed foreigner hung an indefinable attraction. Recke kept glancing
furtively towards the man, “The Tibetans are strange and seemingly impenetrable
people. I almost wish I could learn about their strange country!”

Reimer was about
to launch into a response when he saw the man abruptly shift his jet-black eyes
to Recke and penetrated his stare. The lama’s face was like a carved mask.

Drawn by the
force of this look, Recke kept his gaze for a few seconds and then became
restless. His lips moved slightly as if searching for words, but no sound came
forth. Only his fingers made jerky fidgeting on the tabletop.

“What’s wrong
with you?” Reimer bobbed one of his feet against Recke’s shin lightly. At the
same time he noticed a fleeting smile in the features of the stranger after his
comrade winced. It was only a slight twitching of the mouth, the otherwise
motionless face awarding an ironic look and betraying profound significance.
His small, black eyes glittered from under the half-dropped eyelids almost
piercingly.

The Japanese
were silent and motionless as well. A spell had settled on them. Then the lama
stood up and said loudly and clearly, “Buddha’s
ears are everywhere!”

“Buddha’s ears
are everywhere!” repeated Recke with difficulty, “The man can’t speak German
but he can hear nonetheless!”

The Tibetan
nodded to the Japanese for a moment, then drew the robe tighter and walked
slowly out of the room. His gait was slightly shuffling and his gaze turned
inward. A few minutes later the Japanese followed.

Reimer looked to
his comrade thoughtfully, who stared still at the exit way through which the
Asians had left, “That was no sleight of hand!”

“That’s right it
wasn’t! What it actually was though we’ll never guess. Like a strange mixture
of telepathy and metaphysics.”

“Asia will
always have riddles for us Europeans. Just like you mentioned the inexplicable
or wanting to define it, it’s beyond our horizons. The materialism of the West
has drawn boundaries itself in which each outlook beyond is just a hindrance.”

“Maybe that’s
best,” said Recke slowly, “Otherwise we might not be creative but just dream
and dim ourselves. We have to built and create lasting things, but we don’t
have to always have a foot in the afterlife. Otherwise it might invalidate this
one!”

A man from the
kitchen staff came up to them and placed breakfast on the table. Black coffee
and Komissbrot with jam.

“I’d just like to
know how these guys get coffee beans,” said the Kasseler, who always drank two
or three cups, “In Vernäs there was only beet juice, called Nigra Sweat for
short!”

“Our patrons in
America, probably. Gutmann already said.”

“Hm.”

During the quick
meal the meager conversation between the two was interrupted several times by
commands over the speakers which guided the landing operations. Duties were
called upon constantly. Until now it had been little possible to estimate the
number of personnel at Point 103, but the current orders showed just how a
considerable many men had taken flight. The strategic import of the North Pole
was unmistakable.

The men were
clear on this without words. But for the moment their thoughts centered on the
man in the black robe, who still must have understood Recke’s thoughts.

Recke said
abruptly, “When I get home safe and sound, I’ll read books on Tibet and
Lamaism. I’m very interested now how far our knowledge has come. Even if the
inner core likely remains a mystery, I still want to know the outer part.”

“Buddha’s ears
are everywhere,” Reimer repeated the translation from before, “It wouldn’t
surprise me now if the Ta Lama had a similar wish as well.”

“It’d be incomprehensible if I had the time to dispute anything with the freshest energy
had I not been informed any better. But if we ignore the strangeness of this
incident, trying to guess at such a wish is meaningless. Anyone can guess at
something. They can’t bring it into action though!”

With the
progression of the day, stress was put on the two officers. The huge bustle at
the station and the haste of the men particularly disgruntled Recke, who was
already tired of doing nothing. Only the hope of imminent orders allowed the
men to suppress their mood. Reimer also began to grow mellow.

In the afternoon
the captains slept in their rooms. Recke, who was the first to awaken, went to
Reimer and shook him harshly, “Up, Herbert! Previously, before stepping into
your boudoir, some kind of guy from the staff came down the aisle and shouted
something about a movie theater. We should see if they’re showing a movie with
saloon heroes and sweetie pies. We don’t even know what cute girls look like
anymore.”

Reimer scrambled
awake and blinked, “Who gossips about movies here? If it were true, Gutmann
would’ve said something about it long ago.”

“No one’s
gossiping here!” Recke grumbled, “I heard the word ‘cinema’, so there has to be
one here.”

“Alright.”
Reimer got ready and went out into the hallway with Recke. Walking towards the
dining room, they met no one. They noticed that, unlike that morning, an
unusual calm prevailed. In the gyro hangars there were only a few men on duty.
All work had ceased.

Recke went to
one of the technicians he knew by sight already, “Where’s the movies?”

The man looked
at him in astonishment, “It’s…” He interrupted the beginning of his sentence
and showed uncertainty.

“Well?”

“You should
already know! Or – ?”

“The heck we do
– a police dog couldn’t even find its way around in this labyrinth!”

The man took a
deep breath, “Ah, is that so… From the hallway going towards the Frogglass, it
branches off from the blind alley just beyond the weather station to the room
marked with the number thirty-eight in Roman numerals. It’s through there – you
can’t go wrong!”

“Mm hm, thanks!”
Recke made a snappy salute and pulled Reimer along with him. “Funny guy. He
acts as if it’s the secret lab at Peenemünde.”

They followed
the specified path. Their shadows on the floor waxed and waned, depending on
where they entered a circle of light from the overhead lamps or exited. Unlike
the other passageways of the complex, this corridor was sparsely lit because of
its extraordinary length.

Before the
emergence to the Frogglass, they came upon the entrance of the blind alley from
before that led about fifty feet in length to a little door, the Roman numerals
XXXVIII emblazoned on smooth wood. At the door stood a sentry whose stance was
firm.

Passing through
the half-opened door, they arrived in a small hallway which opened straight
ahead. Subdued lighting showed the continued path. The faint murmur of voices
came from within.

The two pilots
would never have guessed that the next few seconds would bring with them the
greatest surprise of their entire lives. Clueless, driven only by the need of a
little variety, they entered the next room and halted in awe. What their eyes
afforded was not a movie theater, not the sober or technical establishment, as
they’d found until now fully functional yet modestly following the aspects of
military necessity.

They found
themselves in an anteroom, the center of the ceiling from which a huge
astrolabe hung as a lighting fixture. Amidst the winding metal loop the opal
lamp formed a bright core which spread a mild, pleasant light. Two-thirds of
the otherwise barren room were decorated with the twelve symbols of the zodiac,
while the ceiling showed the figures of the starry sky of the North in bright
points painted against a dark background of night.

Their eyes
wandered. On the wall to the left there was another perforation with a red
curtain pulled to the side. From the next room came the murmur of voices like
the sound of an ocean. Like lightning the realization struck Recke in the
brain. He clutched Reimer’s arm, “The Grand Assembly!”

“Very strange,”
he continued for him. Behind the curtain opened up a spacious hall which bore a
set of steps leading downward. And here they saw a picture they presumed to be
the product of an exalted imagination. An uncommon hall with uncommon people.

The room worked
like the nave of a church. On both sides of the elongated hall ran some benches
on which some of the men of the station sat. The aisles were lower and the
processional path of the hall continued through four more planes. The whole
looked like a road flanked by the walls of a mutual, low parapet which led to
the end of the hall. Upon this path stood a procession of a type of people
which for the most part wore red capes. Something just like that was like what
the white robes of the Knights Templar would’ve looked like.

At the head of
the procession were foreign guests, whose attire also emphasized the
strangeness of this assembly. Over everyone dominated the black, helmet-like
headdress of the Tibetan Ta Lama, the Japanese next to him becoming small.
While the Tibetan wore the already-known black robe, the Japanese officers had
their uniforms on as well, however, also having black robes draped around them.
A bit later the two pilots could see that the left chest of these coats bore a
dragon in silver contours.

Remarkable was
also the presence of officers from other nations, including two Americans. A
portion of these men also had red robes, some of them black instead. Also many
Indians in their tight, white trousers and black frock coats stood at the head
of the long group. Some tall black men, one of them a typical Ethiopian, Arabs
in black burnous and two Persians in lambskin caps completed this picture of a
world tryst.

They all stared
at a man in German uniform who, the red robe just slightly folded back, raised
his arm into the air with a solemn gesture. On both sides of his collar patches
shone a silver oak leaf.

“We welcome the
messengers!” His voice sounded out sonorously and was audible throughout the
whole hall. The captains pressed unobtrusively to the side and waited for the
things that were now to come.

All of the quiet
murmuring in the hall fell silent. With rapid panoramic glances Reimer and
Recke saw yet that to the left and right of the man who’d just spoken stood a
still representation originating from ancient mythology. One of them
represented the lion-headed Kronos, the other was the famous statue of Helios.

To the side of
these mythological figures stood a German and Italian officer of high rank, as
if depicting a kind of honor guard. The back wall of the hall itself had a huge
sculpted mural; to all peoples with humanistic education it was known also as
the Mithras Relief. The lord of the sun, slaying the bull, and on either side
the torch bearers, the lion, the dog at the belly of the bull, the serpent, the
scorpion at the genitals of the sacrifice and above Mithras the raven.

Meanwhile, the
red coat at the end of the hall began to speak again.

“Prized be the
overseer, the lord, who rewards those who in their desire do good deeds and
purifies their obedience!” A slight murmuring answered him as his arm sank.
“The messengers know why they have come, and we are eager now to hear what they
have to tell us. The messengers may speak so that we might decide thereafter.”
He nodded to the messengers and stepped a little to the side.

The Japanese
captain with the dragon robe was the first to come forward and face the
congregation. He bowed deeply before lifting to speak.

“We ambassadors
of the Black Dragon bring the greetings of our organization to the lords of
Point 103. The Dragon is ready to fulfill the Great Commandment of the world
with other organizations and and is willing to cooperate in its redesign. In a
struggle on mental and mystical levels, the covenant will do everything in its
power for the achievement of our major goals together with the members of the
Ootomo Office. The Red Sun and the Black Sun serve the same lord! That is our
message and we will take the resolves decided here by the Dragon in the face of
our sacred mountain.” Once again the Japanese bowed solemnly and then stepped
to the side.

From the small
group of Indians another messenger came forth. Simply, without ceremony, he
stood before the assembly, making only a measured bow. His almost perfect
German has a slight singing voice.

“What is above
the heavens and below the earth and everything in between the heaven and the
earth, what is also the past, present and future, is woven and interwoven in
space, as it is said in the Upanishads. I am a chaprasi, a messenger of my country, and we greet the lord of Point
103 who, like we, are in service of the King of the World! Our message is the
same as that of the brothers of the Black Dragon and our mission, to
communicate the decisions made here by the Grand Assembly to our guru in the
service of higher powers. Here near the Su-Meru, the ancient sacred high seat,
a force will be dispensed that will open the doors of humanity to a new era.”
The eyes of the Indian burned and he enthralled the present audience. If the
people, who here serve the Lord of the Sun, stir at the hands of the World
Clock, they will also be supported by centers of ancient wisdom. That is what
the Great Guru can say through my mouth!” With a slight bow to the German
officer, putting his right hand to his forehead, mouth and heart, he stepped
back and made way for one of the Persians.

“I am the safir,
the emissary of the Sons of the Black Widower. We also look intently to the
world mountain, which in our language we purely call Haraberezaiti and we are
all close to it here. The grace of Ahura Mazda has opened our eyes and found it
worthy to convey the greetings of our community to those gathered here on
behalf of the Ustad. Whose who are the knowing know whose message I speak and
that it cannot be different than those of the men before and behind me. Who is
purified by the fire and left in silence waiting, all the doors are opened to
him. My brother Mukaddasi, the safir of the Sufi Bi clan, it as ready as I to
take the message we have brought you. It is time that the flame of the light
blazes brighter and the forces of darkness are relegated in their borders. That
is all I have to say!”

“So it is!”
confirmed the second Persian, also protruding from the context, “In näzdi bäkuh dunjâi – we are close to the
world’s peak, may the great power be with us! We are ready!”

As he stepped
back, the first of the Persians added, “Huda wänd dunjâi 'l-ed'an-e mubaräk
nikân-ra negâh nhi-daräd – the King of the World, who must be obeyed, protects
the good!”

Following the
Persians was a Chinese, who was again wearing a uniform and whom Reimer and
Recke had overlooked. Smiling authentically he introduced himself as an
ambassador of the Hung League and repeated in English similar phrases that his predecessors had said.

“We invoke the
spirit of the North Pole, Si Nen Ti, who lives in the Great Bear, and we look
to the Tien Tze Shan, the Mount of Paradise!” he cried out.

“It is the Tao,”
he then concluded, “that creates the harmony of the universe and that we serve
subordinately. The Tao that was taught from the Tai Shan mountains and by the
Master of Heaven and the Hung League recognized and preached as the foundation
for all existence. And so we knowing of our League also look to the secret high
seat of mankind, the Kuen Lun, to receive the strength to carry out our
mission. The way Confucius said in his book Lun Yu: The superior man is
familiar with duty; the common man is well-verse in profit! If the hour has
come for those who know they will be called, so are we ready. That is the
message of the great Koh, our old man of the mountain, and his two Hiong-Ti!”

After the
Chinese came a series including the Ethiopian, a Brazilian officer, a
Venezuelan, a Siamese and a full-blooded Mexican Indian with messages as
officers of the same rank. The willingness was on all sides to serve the same
goals at the given hour. As the last messenger stepped up an Arabian,
accompanied only by his two companions, to the platform by the two mythological
figures. Gracefully he picked up his right hand before starting to speak. From
under the dark kufiya looked a distinctive face out to the assembly, flashing
from a pair of passionate eyes.

“We are the Sufar, the messengers of the Keepers of Secrets, of
the ancient Ali Sikhs from Cairo and the guardians from the Valley of Wisdom
from Jebel Hadhur! It’s us that they send to guard the ancient black stone Anat
in ‘the Tower of the Ephemeral’, considered the mother of all being. They’re
words are as follows: Bring those who are on the way to the mountain of
assembly our greetings! We are also willing to complete with time and even
reach full completion. Innumerable times has the path to the light been sought
yet caught in the thorns of doubt. We seek the knowledge no more, for the
knowledge will be us! The knowledge of the secrets of the world that separates
existence from appearance. Just so do the Yazidi at Jabal Sinjar sacrifice to
Melek Taus, the lord of evil, while they believe in the forgiving redemption of
the High Court, and the people of the whole earth bow to the increasing
strength of the negative pole and its magical influences.”

The Arab took a short step towards the listeners. His throaty
voice rose as he said in flawless German, “But no one can escape the path they
have led. A sura in the Koran says: When the sudden nears, there will be no
more denial, nor decrease nor increase. When the earth writhes in pain, when
mountains rub together and grind to nothingness, then you will be lined
threefold!” The Arab gathered the burnoose around him.

“There is no crescent moon over the world, but rather a cross
over humanity. The guardians of the stone of Anat see a division of the earth
into a western and eastern half. That is the visible, horizontal bar of this
cross. The polar forces: white and black magic, the top and the bottom of the
invisible, the vertical bars which dominate the horizontal! Thus the physical
force of the mental planes and the ethos of humanity is determined from the
Midnight Mountain, directly to which we knowing look. There follows the message
of the Sikhs: We have received an invitation to the Assembly of the Black Sun
and at the same time have seen the bright disk in the sky. We read the signs
that herald the turning of an age and promise the humanity of the coming
Aquarian age a new paradise. Before us is the high time of the Great Mother.
The gate of ‘The Tower of the Ephemeral’ is therefore open to those who know! Insân
idhab ilâ 'lbhabi waftahhu!”

Murmurs of approval became audible. The declarations of the man
in black burnoose had made an impression and showed it as the personality of
his group. The Arab had no doubt studied in Europe and spent many years in
Germany as well. His mode of expression in this language baffled them. Slowly
shuffling and stepping forward lightly, the Tibetan Ta Lama stepped into the
middle of the semicircle that the previous messengers had formed. This brief
moment of anticipation made Reimer and Recke slide forward even closer. No one
noticed them.

The Tibetan tarried a little in pauses of breath. Then he
turned and let his inquisitive eyes wander from half-closed lids out to the
assembly. For those standing further on he gave the impression of a sleeper.
The strangeness of his person was heightened by the fantastically working
headdress; the typical Tibetan monk cap with a large dragoon-like ridge that
steeped deeply. When he began to speak in English, everyone bowed forward to
understand the Ta Lama better for he did not speak very loudly.

“I come as Ku-Chap, as envoy, of the Mahasiddha Lugtog, which
stands in communication with the ways of Shangri La and with the voices that
come from the midnight and from the underground Kingdom of Agartha. And this is
its message and its prayer: I bring the lamp which will illuminate all the
kingdoms of the world and is fulfilled with the light of the sun and moon in
its precious vessel, as great as the three-thousand worlds, and its wick
inserted into the swaying sea of butter, soaked in butter, as strong as Mount
Meru!

“The lamp enlightens the world on the point of falling into
chaos, when men do not remember in time. The glowing disks of Mani are signs in
the sky and they will multiply if the gap between peoples grows deeper. The
message of Ngönkyi Tsao Kung from the King of the World has not reached the
rulers of the West who let their soldiers fight against the entire world. They
are not warned and his enemies will therefore have benefited from it.”

The eyes of the Tibetan narrowed even more, “The Masiddha will
mediate between the seekers and those who await. I have also seen men from here
that come to us, who by us are well received. All have to go the way they are
destined for and will fulfill it with time.”

“Everything will be fulfilled with time!” a voice repeated from
somewhere with a resonance, as loud as the ones what came regularly from the
loud-speakers. Simultaneously beamed an indirect light and played on the cult
relief of the back wall with a bright red glow. While all the participants in
the room remained in deep silence, the invisible voice continued.

“We have heard the words of the messengers and know now that
the communities they represent represent the same knowledge and travel the same
path. We thus now give the news that will come to determine our course of
action!

“Above all: The Yalta Conference on the first of the February
of this year there took place the agreement between the Japhetites of the
Kremlin and the Shriners, keepers of the Covenant in New York. These forces
represent themselves through the personalities of visible world politics. The
result was, beyond the fate of Germany, a dictate for the division of the world
into an Eastern and Western sphere of influence for a period of ten years.
These forces, both of which are subject to the grey magic, will be to blame for
the fact that over Europe will come chaos and especially in Germany, a terrible
time that reminds us of the Thirty Years War. It is the terrible fulfillment of
the prophecy of Walter Rathenau: Germany will be a desert!...”

There was a little modulation in his voice.

“It is already clear that a huge wave of persecution will be
initiated equaling the collective persecution of earlier times. Just as once
the Albigenses, the Cathars, the Templars, the Waldenses, the Patarines and the
Bogomils were persecuted because of their religious affiliation or company, so
in the near future there will be public baiting against the Schutzstaffeln, the Vlasovites, the
Ustasha members, beginning against the men of the Italian Monta Rossa division
and also the Slovakians of Tiso, as well as many French and Flemish, will be
caught in the mill of the emerging East-West conflict.”

A short, dramatic pause followed,
during which half-loud exclamations from the audience could be heard.
Dispassionate sober continued the unseen voice, “The persecuted collective will
take the same path as the hunted had in such an intolerant world centuries ago.
They are thus also chosen, remaining available as a substance, to go down into
the magical plane. You will therefore open the gates of Agartha! Those who have
violated the ethical principles of their communities and have contributed to
their misfortune through their personal debt, they have fallen to the world’s
court. The discovery and clarification – in what ways and to what extent the
persecution will employ – are the coming task of the tactical group at Point
103. For the messengers of our affiliated communities let it be further said:
Point 103 will endeavor in the period of the next five years to be able to
enter, at the appropriate time, as determining factors on the mental level. For
the reactions related thereto, which will be carried out globally, we seek the
support of friendly organizations. Furthermore we will devote ourselves to the
discovery and exploitation of specified raw materials to a greater extent and
in addition the seeking and exploration of the technical and physical potential
of ancient cultures. In this field we will also come into closer cooperation
with other groups! And a reminder to all: We have no time to lose, especially
since the Shriners have committed to securing the protection of the Great Pole.
Their newest creation is the foundation some time ago of the Vereinte Nationen – United Nations,
abbreviated as the UN, whose symbol is a blue flag with the pole as the center
of the earth. This gesture and symbolic diffraction around the pole, this
second edition of Woodrow Wilson’s old plan, must not be overlooked. The
measurement of forces on the mental plane has begun – the works on the mystical
plane strengthen themselves! We must therefore – having received the messengers
and heard their words – take decisions immediately. The results we will tell the
messengers. As Commander of Point 103 I order the staff immediately to their
command posts and suspend the Assembly, referring to the introduction of the situation
on the basis of recent reports and bringing the appropriate documents. The
renewed meeting of the Grand Assembly will be announced by loudspeaker. The
guests are requested in the common room for the duration of the interruption. I
repeat: Staff to their command posts immediately!”

As the voice ceased, the red light
also went out. In the incurred silence they could hear the voice of the officer
who’d opened up the meeting. With polite words he bid the messengers to follow
him.

While the men on both sides of the
pews remained standing in their places, the speaker with the red cap walked
slowly to the exit, followed by the Black Hat Lama, the three Japanese from
Akyoujuuku and the other emissaries. Behind the red coat ascending the first
level of the stairs, the Tibetan caught sight of Reimer and Recke who’d been
driven to the wall and stared at the procession closely. For a moment the Ta
Lama acted with a step faltering in the procession.

“Sang-gye ku-wang chem-po!” he said
loudly and fixed his eyes on Recke.

The Kasseler took his right hand
hesitantly to his cap, “I don’t understand…” he stammered. A smile passed over
the mask-like features of the Ta Lama. More widely he turned his head slightly
and said in English, “Buddha is
omnipotent!”

A secret knowledge sounded from the
sentence of the Tibetan, whose meaning was hidden in the future. Without taking
more notice of the Umwelt, the messengers left the hall. The strangest thing
was that the intermezzo had caused no surprise at all. The eyes of the other
men rested not much longer on the one being addressed, as the Ta Lama himself
had paid little attention to him. Only after the departure of the messengers
did the pews empty casually and the men crowded without particular haste
towards the exit. Only the two officers next to the statues of Helios and
Kronos, the German and the Italian, stayed in place.

Reimer and Recke, who seemed also
not to hasten, saw from the red-cloaked suit of messengers a man pushing his
way sideways and coming towards them. It was Gutmann.

“Who brought you here?” he asked,
not unkindly, as he stood near his comrades. Recke hung around the thoughts
filling his mind since the leave of the Tibetan and didn’t understand the
question at first.

Reimer answered in his stead, “Feeling lonesome and abandoned,
we wandered through a labyrinth of immortal gods and…”

“And so on,” Gutmann cut him off mockingly, “I know such
phrases well enough!” He took the two friends by the arm and took them with
him, “It’s actually a good coincidence you came here by yourselves. I truly
didn’t know in these last few hours of the things I’d be thinking now. You
being here cuts down explanations!”

Between individual small groups of men they walked through the
cosmic vestibule, as Gutmann jokingly called the anteroom and then through the
corridors and gangways to their rooms. Immediately Juncker arrived behind them.
Both officers took off their red cloaks and made themselves comfortable in
Gutmann’s room.

“The red robes at the meeting remind me of a tribunal,” Reimer
said, pointing to them.

Gutmann sat on the field bed next to Reimer and replied
earnestly, “That impression isn’t so inaccurate. It is actually – figuratively
speaking – an arm of the world court!”

Recke looked up from his reverie. Looking at Gutmann, he said,
“Whether court or not – that’s irrelevant to me! Something’s happening on this
sick planet that the little soldiers at the front have no idea of. There’s
still a lot of fog clouding my vision but it always seems that so much in politics
has to be hidden. One question: Who are the Shriners?”

Gutmann leaned back, “If you remember the words previously
spoken by the commander through the mic, he called them the keepers of the
Covenant. In this, in a shrine, they keep the personified magic of Yahweh as a
power center part ethnic and part cosmopolitan active substance that works in
both directions. Their political representation on the visible world stage
includes President Roosevelt among others. Churchill and other men in world
politics also belong to the world brotherhood of all the lodges, whose
mysterious leader, the HOATF based in Chicago, as well as over the Sanhedrin
stands in the inner government of the world. All lodges are subordinate to the
“Head of All True Freemasons”, which operate as the auxiliary troops of Mount
Zion for the goal of a One World government under countless secular disguises.
It is a power that has a network over all other forces and storm all together
against the Midnight Mountain.”

“Oh, I’m understanding slowly,” replied Recke, “As far as the
mystical or magical level is concerned, there already seems to be a very old
conflict between spiritual direction and ethical concepts!”

“So it is,” Gutmann agreed with him, “The areas mentioned above
go back to the Golden Age of a bygone era of humanity. In the fragments of
traditions from the lost paradise, the Atlantis Period poses among other
questions that there was an interregnum in which black magicians of semitic
origin ruled over the Aryan Antlanteans. Doubtless they put their Bealim as
well – their Baal idols – in addition to dominate the God Poseidon. The old
black-magic god cults of the Baal persuasion are rooted in the Semitic living
space; the Bealim outlasted the Atlantis catastrophe and maintained themselves
– following the genitives of place names or even the article used to identify
God – as lords of those relevant places, primarily as mountain gods. Thus the
Baal Libanon and Baal Tabor. Baal-Melkart was a Phoenician City-Baal. The
latter was worshiped at the time of the Omri Dynasty in Israel-Judah. Before
the migration of Israel the Bealim were worshiped in the Palestinian areas by
the local inhabitants of Ur, which during the transition of the old cult-places
in Israel was merged with Baal-Yahweh. With the Israelites, the infiltrated
esoteric concepts and Mystery Wisdom from the eastern sphere of life conveyed
to them the knowledge of an esoteric world center, the Mount Meru known by
various names, the Midnight Mountain!

“This high seat of ancient Atlantis, from a time when Greenland
was still the Green Land, reminded the Israelites again that there was
previously historically an interregnum of their race. Isaiah took the mount as
Har-Moed in the Bible, the mount of congregation. The result was a spiritual
variation: the Mount Zion as the Jewish center with Yahweh as Baal-Zion. The
mystery of Asgard-Agartha is called in semitic: Gabbatha. Knowledge of these
things united the Israelites intuitively with a longing for the happy era of
their rule over generations of Atlanteans.

“This mystical subconscious is the real reason behind their
historical-periodically ongoing unrest and infiltration into the western and
northern spheres of life. In this they currently form a circle of gray magic
with a black-magical center, so they won’t be able to lose their black cultic
primordial reason. From this perspective on the Arctic world mountain results
now the movements into the areas of the Great Pole in a race with the
white-magical powers of the Indo-Aryan groups aspiring for an Atlantic
Renaissance. A decision in the long run in the offing: Either the Shriners
bring the Tablets of Sinai to the Midnight Mountain and assimilate the white
force for the rule of Baal-Yahweh, or the coming Aquarian Age of a new Yuga
comes through the purifying fire of the North!”

“It’s an invisible front, which the mass of people would call
irrational,” Reimer interjected.

“Invisible – partly, yes! Irrational for those who haven’t
looked. Moreover, even the irrational of all things, as a counterpoint in
dualism, is a primal force, which without calculation and without mind to
understand affects us naturally and which isn’t replaced by any conscious
force. The materialistic world view of the modern era denies any relationship
with the primordial and as rational remains always on the edge of all that
happens. This knowledge is the secret of Asia. It is the result of objectivity
that we in Europe have become desolated or vermonden,
because the Europeans have sacrificed their inner strength, the irrational to
the coolness of reason, to the coolness of a ratio. To whom but knows these
things, there will come much else understood what otherwise in life seem
incomprehensible. If Tibet, the roof of the world, stands in nexus with the
Ri-rap-hlumpo and the Chang-Shambala – with the latter meant as Agartha – it
will thus be a result of obedience before irrationalism.” Gutmann lowered his
voice slightly, “And Tibet will become our best ally…”

“But the collapse of the Reich can’t be helped anymore,” Recke said
somberly.

“No – Germany will temporarily be the sacrifice in the struggle
on the mental plane. Not least because of some errors of its own policy… But at
the same time it will engage with other nations refined by the fire, which is
offered to it from the North. Until then, however, in the sign of the Black Sun
we must prevent through defense the grey-magical forces pushing into the area
of the White Circle!”

“Then there won’t be a vacation for picking flowers and kissing
girls for a long time,” Recke sighed resignedly, “It’s obvious I won’t abandon
you all…”

As a small pause entered their speech, Reimer placed a
question, “Why couldn’t we ever see the commander of the base? Previously he
received us with a message or even showed himself in any other occasion.”

As Juncker laid taciturn on Reimer’s bed, sprawled, Gutmann
answered, “The commander lives among us, it could be said, undetected. Surely
we have all seen him without knowing that it was him. He comes through the
hangars and workshops as a mechanic, a sergeant and God knows what else. As a
result of the Quarter-Group Organization, to identify him is almost impossible.
Here everything is thought out very thoroughly. Only the Adjutant and the Chief
of Operations know him.”

“And why all this?”

“For reasons of security for his person! He has overwhelming
knowledge and the loss of the chief would be a disaster for us!”

“I thought the base would be shielded,” Recke said with hidden
irony.

Gutmann looked at him disapprovingly, and then only said,
“Better safe than sorry!”

“Then the magic of the Ta Lama wouldn’t be able to faze him
either,” the Kasseler grinned.

“What do you mean?”

Recke hesitated for a moment. Then he told the SS officers
about the two short episodes with the Tibetan. He didn’t withhold his feelings,
which had caught him strangely. The few words the Ta Lama had given came back
to his memory.

The conversation stopped. After a little while the Kasseler
rose and went to his room. Juncker followed him. Before Gutmann could lay down
to snooze, he said to his comrade, “I have the feeling that’s having to do with
everything. There’s going to be a hard time ahead of us!”

The rest granted to the men went by in a flash. The waking
dreams or slumbers of others were disturbed by the noisy loudspeaker
announcement, “Achtung – Achtung! The
Grand Assembly meets back together in twenty minutes! The messengers are also
asked to… In twenty minutes! I repeat...” The voice rasped down the words yet
again.

“Hey, Reimer!
Get up!” Gutmann had spring up and reached for his red cape. A creaking from
the door across the hall indicated that Juncker and Reimer were also already
up. In fact the former slammed with his boot toe against the door of Gutmann’s
room entirely, while other doors in the corridor began to be yelled at or be
struck, “Out with you, you Schlafhasen!…”

Just as drops
collecting in a stream, the men flocked together commanded from multiple sides
of the main passage way and walked in the same direction towards the meeting
room. Now Reimer and Recke found the red capes less peculiar than they had
before. They no longer seemed strange; everything was just as unusual thought
and strange details merely made themselves less noticeable.

For a second
times the loudspeaker droned on underway. A myriad of small things showed
repeatedly that there was a strict discipline. It was all as rigorous and exact
as in the barracks of a normal military unit.

This
time
Juncker took the two pilots with him to the pews of the assembly room so
that
they’d have a good view and not have to stand in the back again. Gutmann
apologized that he was going to be accompanying the messengers instead
and
wouldn’t be able to meet them. Reimer and Recke has quite a few minutes
now to
inspect their surroundings in detail. Again their eyes were attracted to
the
Mithras relief on the rear wall of the room.

The light of
the overhead lights, which played less potently in the background, conjured
mild shadows on the relief and let the figure of the light-god and the two
torchbearers Cautes and Cautopates emerge plastically on either side. The room
itself was otherwise unadorned.

“What does the
wall relief mean?” Reimer asked Juncker, who sat beside him, “I’ve already
sweated through a part of my classical education.”

The questioned
turned his head slightly, “He is the Lord of the Sun! The ever-watching, never
sleeping, the all-knowing and all-bountiful. As the light-god he is the
implacable enemy of the darkness and its evil spirits. As protector of all
truths, honesty and peaceableness, he goes to court strictly with all
adversaries. His meaning…” He was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of the
messengers. All murmuring in the hall had died.

The train of
emissaries came walking again down the middle aisle, the Waffen-SS officers at
their head who had greeted at the opening of the meeting. Behind the men who
hailed from different parts of the world came still some officers of the base
as accompaniment, including Gutmann.

The leader of
the procession stepped onto the platform between the two statues while the
following messengers formed a semicircle around the steps. Again he raised his
arm, literally begging their attention.

“Who sees the
higher world purely and alone and approaching no gods, he awaits to hear the
mighty roar of thunder so that he would be shaken. Then speak he: Silence,
silence! And the prayer: I am a star who with you goes his path of
transformation and is lit from below. After these words, the solar disk shall unfold!”

The
speaker lowered his arm and continued in changing tones, “We have bid the
messengers in our midst that they like us hear the decisions of the Task-Staff
of Point 103!”

Stepping back
he pulled the red cape closer and took on a waiting stance. In the same moment
the red light shone again and covered the wall relief in a fiery glow. From the
hidden speaker system came the sonorous voice of the invisible.

“The Grand
Assembly is convened so that it may fulfill the time as it is prescribed in the
plan of the world. The messengers may hear: To the previously made comments on
the major tasks of Point 103 of a general nature, their orders now endure to a
number of men. One does not need to be a prognostic to know that the Chaos is
already beginning to flood the earth and that already the policy makers of
spirits cannot become the lords they claim to be. We do not know, therefore, what
difficulties will oppose our troops in detail. Should individual members of our
base become cunning in areas against expectation, where men from our friendly
organizations live, so do we expect that they will give them help and support.
From now on we will take all available forces to Germany to save her with
technical potential and plans. The following orders will deal with a sampling
of our opposing forces, to determine their strengths and position. Regardless
of all plans however, a task force will be stopped immediately to devote itself
to an intensive investigation of the Arctic. All the essentials that will be
needed during deployments of their results will be delivered in a form suitable
to each friendly organization. We therefore also expect to obtain rapid information
in an exchange system.

A little pause
ensued. Then the voice continued, “At the conclusion of this assembly, all
off-duty officers report to Hall 1 and take the new order roster made by the
Ordinance Officer on my behalf to note. All officers who are not being sent
within the next eight hours are to stay in their rooms or common room on my
command. During this time a part of them will be called for operational orders.
With that we now turn into the world of human affairs in the sign of the Black
Disk!”

The voice
speaking in short, military sentences broke off. Almost simultaneously the red
light went out yet again. The men in the pews looked at each other and
exchanged meaningful glances, while the faces of the messengers remained
unmoved.

Recke leaned
towards Juncker, “Do Reimer and I belong to the imprisoned?”

“If you’re not
on the new duty roster – then yes!”

“Hmm…”

The
messengers now began to leave the dais behind the lead of the red-caped men.
They walked back through the aisle and then swung into the side aisles.
Dividing into two streams, they took up the places in the first two rows at
their leader’s behest. At the same time two men with the rank of lieutenant
went to the front and pulled down a canvas over the embedded relief from the
ceiling. Unbeknowst to the meeting participants, a movie projector had
meanwhile been brought into the hall entrance. With precise speed the cables were connected
and minutes later a bright white beam of light flooded the canvas surface. For
about half an hour followed excerpts from German and partly foreign newsreels.

The included
clips illustrated clearly the true state of the European fronts. Immense
quantities of American military equipment for operations had been deployed on
one hand, and on the other the weary groups of desperately struggling Germans.

“We must
recognize the situation as it really is,” explained the accompanying voice on
the tape-strip.

After the film
had ended a map of Europe was projected onto the screen. A tall officer came
out of the darkness at the edge of the light’s circle. He explained with a
pointer stick in detail the true situations of the fronts.

Juncker nudged
the two captains, “That’s the Operations Officer!”

The speech
placed with responsible objectivity left no doubt as to the seriousness of the
situation. Unsparingly the staff officer told of the advance of Allied troops
and the discontinuation of their own units and the failure of replenishing the
absent fuel and materials. He concluded his statements that an occupation of
Germany would be an irreversible consequence of the development and in his
final words appealed to the men of the base to serve unwaveringly a greater
future. He concluded, “Let the messengers take with them the certainty that a
collapse of our country will not hinder the efforts of the organizations. And
however many persecutions repeat, so are they purifications by the fire of the
highest test. And let the highest of all things be our duty!”

The projector
blanked out and for a few seconds darkness reigned in the room. As the room’s
lighting was turned back on, the assembly saw the staff’s chief already leaving
the room. The red cape waved like a flag behind him.

“The Assembly
is concluded!” the speaker called throughout the hall. The audience rose from
their seats and let the messengers go first before they themselves began to
leave.

“The Schutzstaffeln have an esoteric core, as
Gutmann has already clarified. The Reichsheinrich
– I mean Himmler – stands outside of it, but he knows of its existence. This
creates an awkward situation which must be met with caution.”

“I appreciate
openness a lot,” Reimer took a turn in his small speech, “Especially when
certain things need to be seen clearly. But whether or not it promotes morale…”

“If a
troop is good, the truth will never cripple them. We’d rather promote preparedness
and bring out our last!” Juncker’s statement was dry and factual, “Here that
recipe has proven itself to us.”

The three men
joined a small group of officers which discussed things lively as they aimed
into the hallway. The curious were jammed in front of the bulletin board. The
men who’d first arrived were already pushing back so that the other could move
up. In short time Recke stood as the first of the comrades before the board and
searched for their names.

His voice rose
above the banter of others, “Hey, Juncker, you seem to be among the chosen
ones! Off-duty! – And Reimer? – Stay there, old boy! – Also free! – You got
mighty lucky, you two!”

His broad back
arched slightly and they could clearly detail the tesne search.

“Eureka!” he
roared, “Someone has something against me!”

Like a bull he
pushed back smiling all over his face. He drew Reimer and Juncker and squeezed
the Linzer’s arm in high spirits.

“You’ve gone
crazy!” he became indignant, partly annoyed, that the grip was painful. Recke didn’t have any
too-delicate grips.

“Don’t
be so silly,” said the Kasseler, “We should see to it that we get into the
house-arrest soon!”

In the next
hours the three men waited together in Juncker’s room, who sought to entertain
his comrades. His comments were repeatedly interrupted by the loudspeaker that
came in well audible the ajar door. Mostly they were the calls of officers
being summoned to the commander. Recke was inattentive, and Reimer only now and
then gave Juncker answers. Time flew.

“We forgot to
see if Gutmann was off-duty!” Reimer threw his hands together.

Juncker was
about to reply when the loudspeaker interrupted his intent, “Major Juncker and
Captain Recke to the command center! – I repeat: Major…”

In a flash
Recke stood up, “All good spirits praise the Lord!” he cried out, “On, forwards
– us, Juncker! – Hey, what about Reimer?” He broke his spontaneous outburst and
listened. But the speakers were already silent and mentioned no names. “The
hell! – Are they tearing us apart?”

Juncker was
already at the door.

“Don’t complain, just listen!” he said
reassuringly.

As Recke and his companion entered the
command room, he saw himself standing in a relatively small space whose
facility bore a large table in the center surrounded by some shifted chairs. A
pile of mapes covered it and lied apparently at random around an uprising
microphone. Opposite of the door a glass sheet was inserted into the wall which
granted no vision.

“Major Juncker and Captain Recke!” the
first reported in.

“But there’s no one here yet!” the
Kasseler said surprised.

“Shh!” Juncker
hissed, “They can see through the glass, they’re not in here. It’s like that...”

“Don’t talk so much, Major!” chided the
voice of the invisible, “For the moment we will only deal with one order. By
the way – the Adju will be joining us
immediately.”

“Oho, joining us…” Recke
sneered under his breath. He looked to
Juncker, who stood there with a red face.

The Kasseler was biting his lips. Now
they’d both had their censure. He dared not even inspect the map in detail.
While he scratched the deck half-embarassed with his boot tie, the door open
and the aide came in. He had some papers in his hands and greeted them
friendly. His insignia showed
the same ranks as Juncker’s.

Now the invisible returned again, “I have
little time and we must get to the core of the matter immediately. For now only
one thing: Herr Hauptmann Recke! It
is well known to me that you are one of the most enthusiastic officers have a
great sense of duty. You have come through certain circumstances to Point 103
without first being prepared or screened. Major Küpper has taken responsibility
for the crew of the destroyed Twin-Model and has given for you and Captain
Reimer the best possible description. Allow me to make a long story short!
Hitherto you have not actually belonged to our Gemeinschaft, but your comrade Gutmann – and Juncker too, I think –
has already largely informed you about everything. About our organization
itself you will be informed of in a timely manner. Are you ready, considering
the current state of things and your knowledge, to fly under the sign of the
Black Round and stand up?”

Recke looked forward to the glass as if he
could see the commander physically before him, “So long as you stand by your
word –jawohl, Herr Kommandeur!”

A
soft chuckle came back, “You have character. I like you, Hauptmann! I’ll keep an eye on you and promote you.” An
indeterminable noise came through the loudspeaker system. Apparently papers
rustling. Then the voice continued, “I order you
with the new Dostra-Maschine to Prague, meine
Herren! – The new model has a seven-man crew, that is to say, five men to
administer the craft and you yourselves as Sonderkommando
– special units – for the tasks provided. According to the progress of prior
technology, this craft is safe against attack because it has flak-armor. I see
your are astonished, Hauptmann! You
will still have to get used to other surprises yet! Of course, the entire crew
bears the greatest responsibility for the security and confidentiality of this
model. If you land in Prague, allow no one to approach the machine. Juncker,
you may take the command!”

“Jawohl, Kommandeur!”

“You have heard my words at the Grand
Assembly, meine Herren! Your task is
now to preserve certain plans or designs for a disk-aircraft from access by
foreign hands. It is a model fundamentally similar to our design. The
difficulty of your assignment will be that you can only be active during the
beginning of the flight. At the same time, however, you must observe the onset
of collective persecution and bring back a very precise report on the
methodology. Provided that it is in your modest power, you are to provide all
possible assistance if it does not compromise your assignment and the
conservation of the machine. I’ve already pointed out clearly in my words that
forces for the sake of persecution will be made extremely apparent. It is good
to observe particularly well in this respect, meine Herren!Our later
decisions will be significantly influenced by your reports. Always remember!”

“Jawohl!” the two officers confirmed with
discipline.

“In the Dosthra-Maschine you will find the
complete flight-map equipment required for your route. Also I will give you an
army map to give you a one-to-one hundred thousand scale of Bohemia’s area. The
timing of your departure is not yet determined. Use the next few days to become
familiar with the peculiarities of the new aircraft, and especially familiar
with its weapons. There are yet secret weapons that the enemy doesn’t know of.
You are both relieved of base service, meine
Herren! According to previous reports it may be that your deployment will
be in ten or fifteen days. Before you take off, I’ll call you up again. You
will receive detailed instructions for your order from the Chief of Operations.
I thank you in the
meanwhile!”

Both officers threw up their hands and
saluted. The Adjutant accompanied them to the door and comradely gave them his
hand.

“Special Employment?” The Linzer marveled,
“Because we’re still together as pairs. That’s cute of the chief.”

“It all has its meaning,” Gutmann made a
mysterious face, whose expression was already becoming known to his comrades.

“Old secretive, you,” chided the
Linzer.

“Oh – not quite – As proof against
your assertion I’ll share with you that tomorrow we join a tour of the Dosthra
machine. The chief wants you to get to know this model and how to fly it.”

“The chief’s wish is my wish. He is
a very polite man if he refers to his orders as wishes!”

“One more question,” Recke objected,
“What about the other five men in the crew?”

Gutmann made a casual movement of
the hand, “They’ll report with us in the next few hours once the Adju’s brought them to their feet!”

Gutmann was wrong. The tension of
the busy day let the men forget the view’s they’d exchanged by the time of
midnight. The continuous artificial light could easily confuse the concept of
time. It was Juncker who, with a random look at his watch, diagnosed that it
was time for bed.

In the morning the telephone
rattled. As Recke picked up the receiver, the Adjutant reported to him and told
him that the five other crewmembers would report in about half an hour. He and
Juncker were allowed to remain in their room for the moment.

The two men had enough leisure to
grab breakfast and finish up. At the expected time there was a knock on the
door. As Recke opened it he saw a young Senior Lieutenant of the Luftwaffe
standing before him, and behind him on the opposite side of the aisle stood in
a row a Luftwaffe sergeant and three Unterführer
from the Waffen-SS.

“Lieutenant Jensen with four men
reporting in on the commander’s order!” He led his right hand with the casual
positioning of his fingers to the visor of his tight-fitting cap.

“Ah – I’m glad it’s you!” said
Juncker, who came up from behind Recke into the gangway. He gave the flight
officer his hand and introduced him to the Kasseler.

“Jensen and I have already flown a
few times together.” Looking at the four men, he said, “Well then – we already
know each other!”

Then turning to Recke, “These are in
order: Beer – an old Stuka-man, then Paulsen, Krammer and finally our Flying
Dutchman, the Senior Squad Leader Van Huys!”

They were selected men, all lined up
for report. They all had awards and badges. Gutmann, attracted by the talking
at the corridor, came out of his room with Reimer and smiled.

The two captain, led by the SS
officers, entered a hangar space blasted into the rock of the mountain-ring,
which was extended by a small camouflaged structure. Some of the men from the
ground crew were readily available. Gutmann left it to Juncker to give the
explanations.

After their initial queries, he
showed the two captains a large aircraft which stood like a monster in the
glare of the room. Reimer and Recke had expected a a design that would resemble
a larger Henckel or Dornier type. Instead they saw a machine that resembled an
outspoken attack craft.

“This is the Dosthra-Maschine, Type
E!” said Juncker. It sounded simple as if he were pointing to an ordinary
object, “The latest standard-sized fighter, whose series production and use in
the homeland is no longer possible.”

The captains, seeing the
technological marvel for the first time, took a few steps to the side to get a
better look. Before them they saw a high-sitting deck, which had a pentagonal
cross-section fuselage and its thickened nose gave it the appearance of a
maligned insect. That visual impression was reinforced by the fact that on both
sides, two great Black Circles worked themselves like eyes on a beast.

“A powerful bird,” Reimer remarked
in meditation, “It well has a wingspan of forty meters.”

“We still have Model C and D here,”
explained Juncker, “Model E is essentially a much improved pattern and, as
already indicated by the commander, flak-proof.”

“I can’t very well imagine that,”
Reimer interrupted.

“It’s made of the latest material.
Namely Quetschmetall – “crimp metal”.
It’s this highly-compressed metal that’s literally crushed under pressures of
up to four-hundred-thousand atmospheres and therefore has a low specific weight
and high strength. Because it’s usually radioactive, the activity is insulated
with a plastic overlay. By this method almost any allow, including steel, can
be compressed into a light metal. As armor for aircraft it’s virtually
impenetrable. Furthermore secret inlays prevent the blowing out of hollow
charges.”

“You speak like a book!” consideration
sounded from Recke’s words.

“Man must know his machine!” In that
reference was a slight reprimand. He stepped up the the pulpit extending far
ahead which showed two juxtaposed, well-formed combat positions.

“Here,” he pointed to two man-sized
wheels of some four meters in diameter, presiding over very strong roll-bars
like pincers from the head of the insect, “This chassis is capable of
retracting both wings underneath! It has four engines, namely Piston-Radial
engines from an Argus model. The hull has a fifth engine for particular
altitudes and in addition on the tips there are charge-ramjets. These nozzles
can be used for acute-angle depth changes.”

As if to himself, he added, “Well, well… short, coaxial
Hammerhead-Propellers with four blades.” He let his eyes slide along the hull, “Interesting!
Not a common V-shape. The hull looks like a long cigar.”

“And indeed, a strange coating,” it was now heard from the
Kasseler, “Looks as if the machine were sprinkled with countless eyes. Strange
bird!” He reviewed it also like Reimer, “Relatively narrow wings, stacked
split-wings. Somwhat obliquely
positioned and low set tail. Hmm…”

“Yeah – You wouldn’t want to believe it. But the plane actually
flies at about eight-hundred and thirty kilometers per hour and has a range of
twenty-two thousand kilometers at a maximum altitude of twenty-three.
Especially noteworthy is its climb at about seventy-five percent of current
fighter-jets, so that a risky climb is possible at any time!”

“Damn it! With an air force of such technology we could still
turn this accursed war in our favor! Except for fuel…” The impulsive Recke
clasped his hands together.

“I’m not nearly done,” Juncker added dryly, “The armament is
also new and still secret! The Dosthra has board cannons, which are actually
metal radiators.” The SS-Officer gloated over the questioning faces of his
comrades, before continuing, “These radiators are based on the working of the
sandblaster-principle and its cutting effect can readily cut through the wing
of an enemy aircraft. The weapon has a standard outlet as a mounted armament and
even looks as such on the outside. The process is somewhat like this, that
metallic dust is chased by magnetic fields and an extremely fine beam with
strong acceleration hits the target. The working of this weapon exceeds all
other airborne cannons!”

“Oh my God,” whispered the Kasseler,
“This Dosthra E could never be surpassed!”

“But,” Juncker countered immediately,
“In a few years, the E-Model will be outdated already. In the new age of jet
fighters and supersonic speed we must increase the speeds of our great war
machines significantly. Work is already under way on new energy sources. We
stand before revolutionary changes!”

“That’s enough with the
explanations,” Gutmann cut him off, “Let’s look at it from the inside now!”

As the four officers left the hall
at noon, they were serious and silent.